The Equine Posterior Achievement Award

New Book by Rev. Eric Lee of PFAW's African American Ministers In Action Network

Discover what really happened with this controversial ballot initiative.

In Marriage Equality: Proposition 8: The California Divide, by Rev. Eric Lee offers a careful look at the thoughts and views on both sides of the ballot. Rev. Eric Lee is a California member of PFAW's African American Ministers In Action (AAMIA) network.

SPOTLIGHT

'Tis the Season for Right Wing Extremism

The right-wing extremism on display in August's town hall meetings was pretty shocking. But amazingly, the Right tried to top itself this September with a series of events that truly showed how the Radical Right got its name. People For the American Way was there to cover the events and expose both the Far Right's extremism and its influence on national policy makers.

Here are just the top three, in chronological order:

"GLENN BECK SENT ME"

Glenn Beck's "9/12 Project" rally in Washington, D.C. was billed as an effort to get people to embrace the spirit of unity Beck says was the prevalent feeling of most Americans the day after the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks. In reality, it was a circus of "Tea Baggers," secessionists and radical libertarians, as well as "Birthers," "Deathers" and every other breed of right-wing conspiracy theorist.

If you asked what could be further on the outer fringe of right-wing extremism than the above two events, and the answer would be this past weekend's 'How to Take Back America' conference in St. Louis, hosted by such radical zealots that many on the Right won't even associate with them. Of course, plenty will still associate with them, like Mike Huckabee (last month's Equine Posterior Achievement Award winner, incidentally) and five current members of the U.S. House of Representatives -- one of whom, Rep. Trent Franks, called the president an "enemy of humanity." We had our own inside man at the conference to get us the goods first hand.

Please help People For the American Way expose, counter and defeat the resurgent Radical Right, and stop it from dominating our most important national and state policy debates.

THIS MONTH

Still Waiting...

Despite a Democratic majority, crucial Justice Department nominations are still being held up in the Senate due to right-wing opposition.

Dawn Johnsen, nominated to head the Office of Legal Counsel, and Tom Perez, who the president picked to lead the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, have been waiting for many months to be confirmed. Republicans are obstructing the much-needed restoration of the Justice Department's role as a guardian of civil rights and liberties. These highly qualified nominees deserve to be confirmed and Americans deserve their service.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) Introduces a Bill to "Dump DOMA"

After months of pressure and activism by People For the American Way supporters through our Dump DOMA campaign, Congress now has a bill in front of it that would repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Thank you to Rep. Jerrold Nadler for introducing the Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 3567). At the press conference announcing the bill, the Congressman said, "we can and we will dump DOMA once and for all."

Also, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) received a hearing in the House Education and Labor Committee on September 23. Stay tuned for more news on that bill and others as we push forward in the fight for full legal equality for all Americans.

This Year's Prop 8: The Importance of Defeating 'Question 1' in Maine

In Maine, a state that recently passed a bill granting full marriage equality for same-sex couples, the Right has stopped the law from taking effect by placing an initiative on the ballot this November that, if passed, would ban same-sex marriages in the State.

This is monumental. The passage of Proposition 8 last year in California was a painful loss. The approval of the Maine ballot initiative -- Question 1 -- would be a devastating blow to the recent march toward full equality across the country. A win would help build momentum for the entire LGBT equality movement.

FEATURED VIDEO

Right-Wing Census Paranoia

In the wake of the recent death of a U.S. Census worker in rural Kentucky, who was found hanged with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, it's important that we sit up and take note of the irresponsible right-wing leaders like Glenn Beck and Rep. Michele Bachmann who have been energetically whipping up irrational paranoia about the Census among members of the right-wing base.

This video from Right Wing Watch, which has been picked up and posted by dozens of blogs, captures some of the hysteria and is definitely worth watching.

BLOGS

Right Wing Watch: Rep. Trent Franks Declares President Obama an "Enemy of Humanity"

Speaking at the recent How To Take Back America Conference, Rep. Trent Franks declared that nobody should be shocked that President Obama does all sorts of "insane things" because he is an "enemy of humanity."

Right Wing Watch: Stemberger Traffics In Stereotypes

Kyle: In my last post on the Rifqa Bary saga, I noted how her lawyer, John Stemberger, has been trafficking in stereotypes as he's been busy leveling various accusations against her Muslim parents, claiming that if Bary is returned to them it would only be "a matter of time until she disappears into the night" and is killed for converting to Christianity and claiming that the mosque to which her parents belong is a hotbed of terrorist activity with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaida.

Kyle: In the post I wrote last week featuring audio excerpts from the right-wing anti-Islam conference call organized by the National Day of Prayer Task Force, Lou Engle, and Tony Perkins, there was an exchange near the end that I didn't manage to record due to technical problems.

The exchange came when Cindy Jacobs was leading the prayers near the end of the call, and fortunately Beliefnet caught it.

Obama Nominates First Openly Gay EEOC Commissioner

Happy Constitution Day!

At People For, our mission is to promote and defend constitutional values, so September 17th, Constitution Day, has a special place in our heart. Senator Robert Byrd passed legislation to create Constitution Day in 2004, and we wanted to celebrate this year by sharing clips from some of PFAW Foundation's Constitution reading events from years past.